The Beauty Of Yoga

March 26, 2016

DID Y’ALL SEE THAT IRISH WIN LAST NIGHT!!?

I admittedly didn’t pay attention to much of the regular season, but March Madness is just too much fun to miss out on! I met up with my older brother at a bar to watch the game last night and may have yelled a little to loudly at certain points. It was such a weird, terrible game but what an ending! Go IRISH:) Are you following? What’s your team??

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Saturday mornings are just the best, right? I love to wake up without an alarm, drink coffee in bed with the sun shining through my window, and then head off to long sweaty 90 minute yoga class.

My studio only offers a 90 minute class on Saturday mornings, so it’s a real treat. During the week the practice is more standard. In an out, 60 minutes, get it all done. But when we have 90 minutes, we PLAY.

For some reason the 90 minute class isn’t the most popular. There is a core group of about five or six of us that always go, but lots of the other studio regulars steer clear. I think they worry it will be too hard, and don’t believe us when we tell them otherwise.

The beauty of yoga is that it is as hard as you make it. You could go lay in child’s pose through the whole class. You can modify whenever you want. The only reason a class is hard is because you choose to push yourself, and that is a GOOD thing!

Plus, the 90 minute class doesn’t necessarily feature longer holds or faster sequences. Rather it offers time to experiment and grow your practice. We do more workshopping poses, trying new things, and focusing on specific areas of the body. I get to actually try new arm balances, binds, headstands and back bends. Without the Saturday 90 minute class, my practice would not progress nearly as much.

Today we learned a funky way to get into eight-angle pose and talked about it vs. side crow. We did some extra binds, especially one in triangle that really opened up my hamstrings. We came into camel from the ground up, which was interesting and really forced us to engage our core and push out hips forward. And a few girls actually went from wheel into camel which was celebrated:)

The 90 minute class does not feel more difficult, it feels more playful. We build community when we fall on our faces and laugh at each other, or when someone nails a pose and we clap. We get to flow and stretch and strengthen, but also ask questions and experiment.

I don’t know why I’m writing this other than I’m just super happy after a great practice and want other people to make sure they play and experiment in their practices too! Don’t get stagnant and don’t let fear dictate. See what you are capable of!

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